Gear Review: Exped Black Ice 55L

Gear Review: Exped Black Ice 55L

By: Jere Burrell, Pro Guiding Service Guide

Walking into the Cordillera Blanca with the Donkeys and Black Ice 55L. Photo: Paul Barish

The snow on the glaciers was still thick and the days were still growing longer. My spring schedule had filled with multi-day ski trips and summit climbs on Mount Baker. This time of the year was typical, and we received our share of rain, snow, and over all wet conditions. As we transitioned from spring to summer my instructional courses and shred trips on Baker moved to summit climbs in the southern complex of North Cascades National Park. By then the wet spring weather had become a distant memory as we sweltered in the hot, dry, and smoky summer haze. Along the way the Exped Black Ice 55 Liter was my go to pack on shred and send trips up to 6 days in length.

Material

The Black Ice surviving the snow at the 16,500' moraine camp on Artesonraju Photo: Jere Burrell

When the Black Ice showed up in the spring at Pro Guiding Service I was stoked to see its waterproof design. After spending over a decade guiding big whitewater, I immediately recognized the benefits this pack would have in the commonly wet North Cascades. In a classic dry bag design this pack is made of an ultra durable but light weight TPU Laminated HD Ripstop with a large opening on the roll top closure. The functionality here is top notch. The roll top secures with either 2 small carabiners that clip to daisy chain style loops down the side of the pack, or with larger loads that fill the pack, you can get a couple rolls in, bring the ends together, and clip them with a separate male/female style plastic plug and pinch buckle. During the spring with our cooler wet weather I felt 100% comfortable leaving my pack rolled up laying outside the tent vestibule to keep space open for boots and stoves. Never once did any gear get wet inside.

Compartments

In order to ensure waterproof performance, the packs design has one large 55-liter tapered funnel shaped compartment, a small external waterproof zippered pocket, and a small internal pocket. In addition, a frameless design keeps the empty pack weight down, but with a removable ultra-lightweight PE foam board it supports pack weight surprisingly well. No flaps, no draw cord openings, no brain. Using a classic brick and mortar packing style, I was able to stuff small soft items such as shirts and extra socks around medium sized hard items like a stove and fuel cans into the large main compartment. This would provide plenty of space for 6 days of gear on summer alpine climbing trips into Boston Basin and for as many days on splitboard mountaineering trips on Mount Shuksan.

The external waterproof zippered pocket has enough space for several small items such as a couple snack bars, map and compass, and the always critical blue bag. Over stuffing the zippered pocket could create a possible weak point in the waterproof performance of this pack fortunately the inside of the pocket is made of the same TPU laminated HD Ripstop so the inside of the pack will remain dry and protected if this were to happen.
Meanwhile the internal pocket offers a little organization for a few items such as more snack bars, a spare battery pack, and a bottle of sunscreen. After the main compartment is packed with all my gear this pocket becomes difficult to access. Another option is using the internal pocket to hold a 1.5 liter hydration bag or dromedary but there is no hydration tube port to the outside of the pack.The simple waterproof tunnel design is effective but has limited organization options. A simple solution I have come up with is a small stuff sack for my regularly used items such as lip balm, sunscreen, tooth brush, and more snacks, that sits on top of my gear in the main compartment.

Compression and Extension

This pack is a stout 55 liters, large enough to carry enough gear for 5 or more days into Boston Basin in the North Cascades. But when it’s time to climb the West Ridge of Forbidden the Black Ice rolls down small. Even though there aren’t any integrated compression straps the pack rolls down tight enough to climb like a small summit pack while still maintaining space for a day’s worth of climbing gear.

The roll top strap and side strap pad with daisy chains. Walking out to Cashapampa. Photo: Paul Barish

The almost empty pack is super compact on 5th class climbing. Photo: Fred and Bob

A decently large load on an acclimatization gear shuttle to 16,500' on Artensonraju

Straps

The pack about ready to climb from the upper bivy in Boston Basin. Ice axe and picket attached. Photo: Jere Burrell

Straps, what straps! This super slim, low profile pack allows a variety of strapping options for those must carry on the outside pieces of equipment. Additionally, low profile shoulder and waist straps provide just enough padding and weight distribution to carry the large loads. While any extra tail length rolls conveniently into velcro closures on the end of the adjustment straps.
First, this pack comes with removable compression style straps that allow custom arrangement on the 4 daisy chain loops running down the back and sides of the pack. Along with an adjustable over the top strap for a variety of arrangements. If you’re carrying a splitboard in “A” frame position or diagonal there are solutions, if you need to attach a rope on the outside there are solutions, snow picket access just clip it, crampons on the outside no problem. If you’re going for a day hike, remove all the straps and have a stream line pack that won’t snag on the drooping doug firs.
Next, the low-profile shoulder straps are padded and wide enough to distribute the fully loaded weight of a 55 Liter pack while maintaining low bulk and avoiding sponge like affect in wet conditions. At first, I was concerned with the padding packing out, but after a full summer of heavy loads this hasn’t happened. The floating sternum strap adjusts up and down easily and for my body shape and size I found the range to be a little limiting but still functions nicely.
In order to carry a big pack comfortably Exped used a removable seat belt style waist belt that connects with a coin and slot buckle. This modern buckle style is easy to use in the snow with gloves, so no snow clogging pinch to

unplug buckle. The female coin slot piece is plastic while the male coin piece is aluminum. Throughout the summer I have seen noticeable wear on the plastic piece. It seems durable enough in materials and design to withstand being crushed if it gets stepped on. Thus, more durable than a typical pinch and plug buckle but it has seen more wear than the aluminum component. Adjusting the buckle is easy as long as I adjust the metal coin, left side first, then after clipping the buckle tighten the plastic slot from the right side. I haven’t removed the belt to climb yet and in fact I prefer moving through vertical terrain with the belt buckled so my pack moves with me and doesn’t sway. But for those who prefer otherwise the belt can be removed easily and stored at camp or in the pack while scrambling, climbing, or sending.
Lastly, the pack easily carries an ice axe or two ice tools with a traditional loop and flip design for the head and a fish hook shaped shock cord toggle tightener to snug the shaft in place. Another design consideration I really liked is the large grab loop handle behind your head. This handle not only makes moving the bag around easy but when transitioning from ice axe use in moderate to steep snow couloirs this handle doubles as a behind the back and head, ice axe quick storage for a He Man, ninja sword, quick stow and retrieve security loop.

Fish hook ice axe clips, flip loops, and daisy chains Photo: Jere Burrell

A geared up author prepared to climb Sharkfin Tower. Showing the sternum strap and waist buckle. Photo: Fred & Bob

From Cascade deluges of rain and Andean snow squalls this pack has kept my gear dry all summer. Alpine climbing up steep snow couloirs, across classic rock ridges, down long gully rappels, and across broken glaciers to getting shoved under the back seat of a mini bus by an anxious driver in Caraz, this thing has held up incredibly well. Over all this pack has surpassed my expectations being able to adapt to any style I decide to use it. And seeing how it has survived a spring and summer of heavy use during work and on personal expeditions I believe strongly this pack will last for many more years of abuse.

So long from the Cordillera Blanca. Photo: Paul Barish

Check out all of the Exped Alpine Packs at Pro Ski & Mountain Service

Surviving in the Face of Adversity: despite dangerous weather conditions, Fall City climbing team almost reaches Denali summit

Pro Ski & Mountain Service is proud to have had the opportunity to support this group on their Denali climb.

When they took off in May, the experienced family Corriveau Fall City climbing team hoped to reach the summit of Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America at 20,000 feet.

The routes were carefully mapped out, and with dad Jon – a very experienced climber who had reached the Denali summit twice before – leading the climbing team, they were optimistic.

Mother Nature, though, provided just enough bad weather to slightly alter plans.

The team, consisting of Jon Corriveau (first climbed Denali at the young age of 16) sons Charlie (23) and George (19), nephew Joe Kinner (21), Aaron Peterson (23) and family friend Paul Cook, left in early May and allowed three weeks to reach the top of the mountain.

Jon said the team accomplished two of their three goals: #1: Go; #2: Come Home. Goal #3 – reach the summit – eluded them due to some of the worst weather Jon said he’s ever experienced.

The team did make it to Denail Pass at 18,200 feet – just 2,000 feet shy the summit – but they could not go any higher due to winds and poor visibility.

Jon explained via email, “We were a very strong team, but we just couldn’t get a break from the weather. We spent many days trapped in our tents praying that we would survive the endless snow and winds.”

Daytime high temperatures at the team’s 17,200′ camp was negative 25 degrees (F), NOT including the wind chill. John added, “Surviving at this camp for three days was very challenging. We were the only ones camped there on our second night.”

The guys are very proud of their accomplishments and reported that many other parties surrounding them turned around while they kept pushing on.

The climb took a toll, though. In the end, all team members experienced different stages of frostbite to fingers and toes and also lost 15 pounds – despite eating well the entire climb.

Jon said the peak time for climbing Denali is late May through early June and their early May climb was special because they had the mountain mostly to themselves. While descending they encountered hundreds of people from all over the world heading up, reminding John of photos from Mt. Everest with longs lines of people attempting the climb.

When asked if they’d try it again, Jon said maybe… but it would be during the later season using a different route away from the crowds.

In closing Jon said the climb put a lot of things in perspective for them all, adding, “As a team, we learned to survive in the face of adversity and it changed our lives forever.”

The team’s climb was sponsored by Pro Ski Service in North Bend and Ocean Beauty Seafood in Seattle.

A break in the weather at 14,200’. Joe Kinner, George Corriveau, Charlie Corriveau, Jon Corriveau.

16,800’ on Denali’s West Buttress

Cold and Snowy camp near Summit.

The team back at base camp following the climb

Written by: Danna McCall

Attribution to: Living Snoqualmie

The importance of navigation skills

The importance of navigation skills.

The recent event with the Boy Scouts on Mount Baker (June of 2018 is the third time in a very short time that I have been very close to a mountain incident that was caused by navigation challenges. Relatively benign glaciated peaks can become very challenging in whiteout conditions just because they often lack the more aggressive, but distinguishing topographic features. Our volcanoes are prime examples of that. In other words, what makes them easy climbs is what creates navigation challenges in whiteout conditions.It is amazing how casually we cruise past gaping and sneaky crevasses in good visibility, which in turn seem quite stressful in poor visibility. The route can seem so painfully obvious in good weather that we barely pay attention to where we are going.The attached photos show the rapid weather change that occured near the Coleman-Deming Col on that particular climb. The photo was taken at 5:40am and the video at 6:30am. The first scout group can be seen in the photo.

I am not passing judgment here. I am just pointing out that basic and more sophisticated navigation tools have their limitations and most of all demand training to be effective.

30 minutes later

Trevor Kostanich

Get to know one of our guides, Trevor Kostanich.

How long have you been a mountain guide? Eight years…I started guiding in February 2010 after taking my AMGA Ski Guides Course.
What drew you into this career? My most rewarding way to spend my time is ski touring and as I grew my skills I naturally started leading others in the backcountry. My wife and I spent the 2006 season skiing in Northern India and had some friends visit where it was clear I loved taking responsibility to safely show others a fantastic experience in wild snowy places. This was the season I concluded I wanted to become a ski guide.
What is your favorite discipline? There is something else to do in the mountains beside ski?
Do you have a role model you look up to? I’ve been lucky to learn from many mentors, and will continue to learn from many more, with various backgrounds. For example, my two biggest ski guide mentors are probably Martin Volken and Matt Kinney. Martin gained professional training early in his life through the IFMGA while Matt Kinney is self-taught in the Chugach. Both have guided over a thousand days on skis and both are still smiling today.
Where did you grow up? I grew up in the Factoria area in Bellevue WA, where my friends finally talked me into taking ski school lessons on Snoqualmie Pass at the age of 13. I immediately fell in love with it and ever since skiing has influenced my life decisions from ski instructing at Alpental through high school and college to taking a quarter off university to ski bum in Jackson to leaving my engineering job to move to Thompson Pass Alaska to landing a career on Snoqualmie Pass. I have spent seasons in other mountain ranges but the Cascades are home…both because I grew up here with many family and friend connections still in the region and because the Cascades have so much ski adventures remaining.
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Coffee flavor especially in the form of a milkshake with real espresso shots!
What is your favorite trip that we (PGS) runs? My favorite outings are multi-day ski traverses in the Cascades (sometimes 34 days long) and it is especially rewarding leading guests through less visited parts of the range. For example, in April 2016 I guided a loyal PGS guest along the Dakobed Traverse with a ski off the summit of Glacier Peak down the Cool Glacier Headwall. We saw a bear but no people for the entire five day trip and sure enough the guest was blown away with the wildness of the Cascades. This guest skied with us in Valdez (in great conditions) the year before, a couple different Alps trips, and still claimed the Dakobed Traverse was his #1 adventure of a lifetime. I also really enjoy teaching the ski mountaineering course on Mt. Baker.
How long have you been working with/for PGS? All 8 seasons I’ve been guiding.
What is your favorite ski line/ rock route/ alpine climb/ etc. in the North Cascades? So many to choose from but I am going to stay consistent with my remote wild desires and go with the Banded Glacier on the north side of Logan.

Kurt Hicks

Get to know one of our guides, Kurt Hicks.

How long have you been a mountain guide? I started guiding in 2004 and received my IFMGA license as a Mountain Guide in 2017.
What drew you into this career? My love of wild, spectacular landscapes and the incredible people that travel through them.
What is your favorite discipline? One of the great benefits of guiding is the inherent seasonality of the mountains. In the summer, my favorite discipline is alpinism. Rock climbing comes to the front in the autumn. And skiing, well, it lasts pretty much all year. I love it all and always look forward to the next day in the mountains.
Where did you grow up? Southern Oregon
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Cookie Dough
What is your favorite trip that we (PGS) runs? Spearhead Traverse
How long have you been working with/for PGS? 5 Years
What is your favorite ski line/ rock route/ alpine climb/ etc. in the North Cascades?

Alpine Climb: Northwest Face of Forbidden Peak

Ski line: Isolation Traverse

Rock Route: (I'd argue that there is very little 'rock' in North Cascades NP that isn't alpine in nature, but for a rock climb that is north of Highway 2, I'd probably say the West Face of North Early Winter Spire).

10 Basic Japanese Phrases

If you've ever been on a PGS International Trip with us, you know that we focus on making sure you have the best experience both skiing or climbing as well as getting a locals perspective on the area.

One of our favorite trips here at Pro Guiding is our Powder Skiing Trip to Japan. If you haven't signed up for this once in a lifetime trip CLICK HERE to find out more information and sign-up now and enjoy some of the best 雪 (snow) on earth!

That all being said, we hope you will join us this year and wanted to share with you 10 beginner Japanese phrases to help you throughout the trip.

Timing is Everything: Summiting Mt. Baker at Seventy

Timing is Everything: Summiting Mt. Baker at Seventy

Seeing the northern lights during the early hours of the morning seemed like a good omen to both me and my PGS guide, Evan Miller, that our ascent of Mt. Baker would be a success. The day before we had met in Glacier, WA, and then hiked up to the Hogsback base camp to prepare for our climb the next day. Summiting Mt. Baker had been on my “to do” list for several years, and I always figured I should do it before I turned seventy. Two weeks before that birthday date, a promising weather forecast tipped the balance for me, and I committed to the climb. And so I found myself at three-thirty in the morning fumbling around in the light of my headlamp, packing up the last of my gear for the ascent.

Evan was an excellent teacher. The afternoon of our arrival at Hogsback we had climbed a few hundred feet up the glacier in order for me to get used to wearing crampons, something I’d done only a few times before. He gave me several good tips on their use and also some basic instruction on the use of my ice ax to arrest myself should I fall. At the start of our morning ascent he checked my gear to be sure I was roped in appropriately, and then we set off up in the dark.

The climb was more spectacular than I had imagined it could be. Once the sun rose it illuminated some fantastic seracs towering above sections of the route. Because we were climbing late in the season, we were forced by crevasses to take a meandering route on the approach, snaking between various yawning (to me) chasms. The tracks of those who had preceded us led to a very sketchy snow bridge across one of the last of these, but fortunately we were able to walk a bit further along the crevasse to a more solid looking bridge.

The only truly intimidating part of the climb for me as a non-rock climber, was a section from the glacier up a short gully to the “pumice ridge.” Most of the snow in the gully had melted out, and we had to cross a dubious looking snow bridge before scrambling up an equally dubious looking steep stretch of mud and rocky debris. Evan went first and set up a belay. I skittered over the bridge, then worked my way up to him, thankful he was so professional and competent at keeping me safe.

The final 500 feet of the climb to the summit is up the “Roman Wall,” a sick joke of a roughly forty-degree slope. As we neared the top of it, I cried out to Evan (in jest) that I couldn’t possibly go any further. His response was to give me a sharp jerk on the rope and a stern look. Shortly after this the incline gradually lessened, and we strolled across the top of the mountain that had enticed me ever since moving to the Pacific Northwest thirty-seven years before. After a quick snack, we ascended the final thirty feet to the top of Grant Peak, where we could look from the mountains of Vancouver Island to Mt. Rainier, with the North and Central Cascades filling in the foreground seemingly at our feet. After high fives and a hug, we took the obligatory summit photos then turned to head back to Hogsback camp.

Our descent was a quick one. By then the Roman Wall had softened up, and we were able to walk straight down it. Evan belayed me again descending the fearsome gully. I led most of the rest of the way down; he stayed behind me to arrest me should I fall. We were back in camp by mid-afternoon. Evan packed up and hiked down to his car while I enjoyed a delayed lunch followed by tea and a doze in the sun. Going to bed at sunset, I slept ten hours and awakened to threatening rain squalls advancing up the mountain. I packed up quickly and departed just as the rain started, stopping in the first substantial grove of mountain hemlocks for a sheltered breakfast. After the snow and exposed rock of the climb the day before, the muted greens, browns and occasional reds of the old growth forest and its creek sides glowed with life. The trip had been fantastic, far exceeding my expectations. Hmmm. Maybe I’ll try Glacier Peak next year, even though by then I’ll truly be seventy.

Fritschi Tecton long term test

Fritschi Tecton long term test (by Martin Volken)

I have had the opportunity to ski and tour on the new Fritschi Tecton in the Spring of 2017 in a very big variety of conditions. These conditions ranged from warm and deep maritime snow in the Pacific Northwest and Norway, to hard groomers in France, bone rattling wind swept high alpine slopes and perfect powder in very cold weather in Switzerland. I am simply telling you this because it is one thing to ski a binding multiple days in the same conditions, but strange things occur when you change snow conditions, temperature and humidity. All in all, a very telling 40 day enduro test for the highly anticipated competitor to the successful Marker Kingpin.

If you are not big on reading and would rather watch a video, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHBiTzR-XKI

If you are STOKED and would like to Pre-Order the bindings, click here: http://www.proskiservice.com/fritschi-tecton-12.html

Market positioning of the Fritschi Tecton:

The “Tecton is clearly aimed to compete with the Marker Kingpin and is therefore positioned in the Freeride / ski touring market. In other words the binding aims at the same market that the by now legendary Fritschi Freeride Pro opened up almost 20 years ago.

When Marker introduced the concept of a “hyprid tech binding”, meaning a tech toe with a traditional heel the binding did two things: It garnered market share from all sorts of competitors and it opened new possibilities in terms of what is possible when we talk about the compromise between touring performance and power transfer in ski mode. Many people who might have put up with the mediocre walking performance of a Marker Baron in order to get its amazing ski performance were stunned by how well a binding could walk that skis so great. Conversely, a lot of weight conscious backcountry skiers felt that the obvious ski advantages of a hybrid system did not seem to diminish the beloved tech toe walking performance . Simply put, the Marker Kingpin stole market share from its lighter and its heavier neighbors in the assortment.

The Fritschi Tecton effectively tries to accomplish the same things that the Marker Kingpin did, but tries to do it even better.

Here is what I found:

Overall binding weight: 550 grams (this is roughly a 100 gram weight advantage over the Kingpin and only about 50 grams heavier than the by now fully matured Fritschi Vipec Evo 12 or the Dynafit Radical 2 ST. In full disclosure; the closest we have been able to come to the officially stated weight was by removing the brake, the binding screws and the heel piece mounting plate (531 grams). With brake, screws and mounting plate we weighed the binding closer to 680 grams which was rougly 100 grams lighter than the Kingpin 13 and about 50 grams heavier than the Dynafit Radical 2 ST.

Ease of entry: This has been a big issue for the Fritschi Vipec in the past. The admittedly unrefined step in performance of the first generation Fritschi Vipec gave Fritschi a bit of a rough start into the market, but in classic Fritschi stylye they were committed to keep improving until they got it right. And I would say that latest rendition of the Vipec Eco and Tecton toe piece just went from good to great. As mentioned the Tecton shares the toe piece of latest Vipec and they finally have the “Ease or entry” figured out. The binding is very easy to step into. Is it easier than the G3 Ion? I am not sure, but it sure is easy and I really feel that the new step in feature with the convenient front bumper will put any residual concerns about this to rest.

Uphill / downhill switch: By contrast to the Marker Kingpin, you do not have to come out of the binding in order to switch between modes. In order to switch from ski to walk mode, you simply press onto the heel lever of the heelpiece then pull the lever all the way forward. This action closes the heelpiece and then moves it backwards and out of the boots way. Step down now and the brake stays up in touring mode. Now pull up the front lever of the toe piece to the “walk” position and you are set. In fairness to the Marker system, most mode switches include a skin switch as well; so the ski will have to come off in most cases anyway.

DIN certification: The Fritschi Tecton is as DIN certification ready as is possible at this point. A strange statement I agree, but here is the deal. There is a ski touring boot norm, which regulates among other things the toe and heel dimension and plastic type of the boot. The problem is that many of the boot manufacturers do not comply with these norms and it is therefore impossible for the TUF (arguably the worlds most respected technical safety standard and certification organization http://www.tuv-sud.com/activity/testing) to hand out any DIN certifications.

For more information on how Fritschi determines binding – boot compatibility, check out this simple 4 point check: https://fritschi.swiss/en/manuals/safety-pin-system/

From everything I have learned regarding the topic, it appears that the whole concept of DIN safety for ski touring bindings is in a bit of a state of flux right now, since not even brands like Dynafit who manufacture both boots and bindings can assure full compatibility across their boot binding assortment.

Safety in uphill mode: Here is major differentiator between the Fritschi tech bindings (Vipec and Tecton) and all other tech bindings on the market. While the Tecton and Vipec Evo 12 toe piece looks a lot a traditional tech toe piece, they function very differently. The pins are attached to a carriage that can move laterally 13 millimeters before the pin wing folds down and release the boot out of the binding. As with most other tech toes, there are effectively 3 modes. The open mode, the ski mode and the walk mode, which gets activated by pulling up the lever in front of the toe piece. The major difference is that by activating the walk mode in the Fritschi bindings you are only increasing the toe release value by about 20 percent. You are not fully locking out the binding. This means that you could come out of the binding in uphill mode if you were to get caught in a slide while touring uphill. In my mind this is a major safety consideration.

Overall binding safety: DIN certification in a tech binding was a seemingly unachievable standard just a few years ago. Overall, this is a great development for the Fritschi, Dynafit and Marker brands and I am hoping that the other tech binding manufacturers will follow in this positive trend.

As mentioned already, the toe piece does not fully lock out in uphill mode, which is a great safety feature. The other differentiating feature is that the lateral release of the Vipec and Tecton bindings occur in the toe piece and not by a rotating heel piece. It is hard to argue against their position that this creates a more positive power transfer in down hill mode, but more on that later. Their reasoning for the lateral release in the toe is as follows. They believe that most lateral toe releases originate at the tip of the ski (a caught edge or a buried ski tip) and therefore the lateral toe release is bio-mechanically a safer way to go.

The heelpiece also offers impressive elasticity with 9 millimeters of elastic travel, which means that you might not to have crank down the binding to such a high DIN release value in order to get good retention. As mentioned before, the binding is fully DIN certification ready and this only happens with a good forward pressure feature which assures consistent heel to toe piece distance.

One other little tidbit regarding the pins of the Tecton and the Vipec Evo12. It is hard to believe, but the dimensions of the pin width is not normed and we have measured differences of 2 millimeters in the total width. This is rather astonishing to me, since this influences the amount of closure of a traditional yoke tech toe system. The Tecton and Vipec Evo 12 system allows for an accurate adjustment of the pin width. This adjustment should ideally be made by your Fritschi authorized retailer.

Overall binding performance in uphill mode: The Tecton has three uphill modes. A flat mode and two elevator bar settings – just like most other touring bindings. They are easy to activate. Some bindings that have rotating heel pieces tend to create snow build up right in front of the heel piece in soft snow (especially heavier soft snow) conditions, which can then inadvertently turn the binding into ski mode. This can be annoying. Since the heelpiece simply slides backwards and out of the way when the binding gets put into walk mode and the heelpiece does not rotate, I did not notice this problem. Pretty cool for sure. The one drawback of the toe release is that there are obviously more moving parts under the toe of your boot and you can feel that in very hard technical skinning moments. In a classic tech toe piece, you are fully locked in and nothing is moving which creates a very solid power transfer in uphill mode. Fritschi has worked hard to solve this problem by creating a non-progressive DIN release curve over the elastic travel distance (it is getting geeky now, I know). This means that you will have to create the set DIN release value in order to move the toe piece laterally at all.

In previous versions of the Vipec this release curve was progressive which makes a lot of sense in terms of downhill safety, but it created too much lateral play in walk mode. See Graph below

Of course, there is the issue of being able to release while in uphill mode, so considering that technical hard skinning happens relatively rarely and you can just put the ski crampons on, I am in favor of their solution.

Overall I consider the walking performance of the Tecton very good and a noteworthy upgrade in uphill safety.

Overall binding performance in downhill mode:
As mentioned before, the lateral release happens in the toe piece. This brings a major performance benefit for the downhill mode. The heelpiece does not have to rotate and this increases the lateral transfer power since most of the power and weight hitting the ski in the apex of a turn hits the ski in the heel area first.

Another clever thing the Fritschi guys thought about is that the shape of the heelpiece includes a protrusion that fits snuggly into the heel cutout of any tech binding equipped touring boot. So in addition to the constant downward pressure that the traditional heelpieces provide, the Tecton adds this LEGO like feature which in turns increases lateral power transfer even more. They call it the Power Rail.

Ski crampon: Fritschi uses the same ski crampon for the Vipec and Tecton. The ski crampon is very strong (maybe even a bit over engineered) and very easy to put on. Thanks to a little pivoting plastic piece you can adjust how deep you would like the ski crampon to penetrate into the snow. The ski crampon is currently available in two sizes (95 and 120 mm). Hopefully there will be another size in between available soon.

Durability:

After 40 days of touring and skiing in a huge variety of conditions I do not see any unusual wear. Time will tell of course how the binding will hold up over the years.

The verdict: I believe that Fritschi might have a hit on their hands here. The binding clearly targets the already great Marker Kingpin (on top of that Marker is being sued by G3 Genuine Guide Gear and is not currently selling the Kingpin ) and has been able to come up with a hybrid binding that raises the bar on several fronts and in my mind has set a new standard of what is possible for a sub 600 gram binding in terms of safety, touring and skiing performance.

25th Pro Ski and Mountain Service Anniversary

COME CELEBRATE WITH US

WHEN: October 29th 5:00pm to 10:00pm

WHERE: Pro Ski and Mountain Service, North Bend, WA

WHAT: Celebrate the 25 years we have had the pleasure of providing authentic mountain culture

The ski and mountaineering shop that started 25 years ago in Seattle, now based in North Bend, has fostered and engaged the local mountain community.

Friends, family, and the Pacific NW mountaineering and ski community will join in celebration. 25 years ago, Martin Volken pioneered a little ski shop in Seattle, which has thrived despite the odds. He continues the Pro Ski and Mountain Service legacy with his shop in North Bend along with his international mountain guiding service, Pro Guiding Service. Throughout the years, this store has become an icon of superior service, excellent product, and true mountain spirit.

Free Demo and Climbing Day 2016

Torguson Promo Poster

Pro Guiding Service is presenting their Second Annual Free Demo and Climbing Day at Torguson Park in North Bend. This is a public event open to the Snoqualmie Valley community and the greater climbing community. Come with the family to learn how to climb for the first time or come to check out the latest gear from Scarpa, Black Diamond, and La Sportiva. This is for those who are already deep in the climbing community and those just scratching the surface of the climbing world. For beginner climbers we will have all the equipment, plus certified Pro Guiding Service guides to assist in belaying and getting comfortable on rock. It will go from Noon until 4pm on Saturday July 23rd.